Shaken, not stirred - Moribund

Unexpected defeat can shake a person or an organization so badly that hysterical and irrational reactions start appearing. These are expected to subside after a while. What do you say when it shows no sign of abating? Can the organization be said to be completely derailed with little hope of recovery?
The ruling party in India was complacent in 2004. It was so sure of a thunping win that it ordered elections a year ahead of schedule. The media, and its main opposition also seemed to agree. the end result was a shocker. They lost. Then followed a series of hysterical rabble rousing about a foreigner becoming the prime minister.
Over time the party kept shooting itself in the foot. The main leaders were pronounced as past their prime by the ideological backbone and for a while they went on the backfoot..........only to return as the prime ministerial candidates! While the world changed, nothing changed here, including the sulk. The confidence vote was another opportunity to get back into the forefront. This was lost, again very badly - first the centre of gravity shifted away to Mayawati and then the vote itself was lost. One expected more hysterics. But I doubt if anyone would have anticipated that senior people from the party would start linking the bomb blasts to the confidence vote.
Either they have completely lost it, or they believe that people are idiots and anything goes. I am inclined to think that it is the former.

The Long Tail

A very interesting site on the theme of long tail theory
and a very interesting write up by seth godin
Chris Anderson is the man who has been propagating this interesting theory.
and the theory rocks.

An interesting counter theory is published at HBR by Anita Elberse, a Harvard Business School associate professor. It is an interesting article with a powerful conterview